Trump signs the Pentagon’s 2019 budget and defends his Space Force

Donald Trump defended his Space Force project on Monday, pointing to China at the signing of the Pentagon’s 2019 budget for a record $ 716 billion.

This funding law “will give the US military the firepower they need to win any conflict quickly and decisively,” said the US president during a signing ceremony at the Fort military base. Drum, New York State.

“We believe our soldiers deserve the tools, equipment and resources they have earned through blood, sweat and tears,” said Trump.

The law releases $ 69 billion for ongoing external operations (Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, etc.), provides for a 2.6% increase in the salaries of members of the armed forces, and allows tens of billions of investments in the modernization of the Navy, the US Air Force and US defense missiles.

As for the Space Force, which Mr. Trump wants to make the sixth branch of the armed forces, it will require additional funding that the Congress will have to approve.

“Like the sky, the land and the sea, space has become a battleground,” he said. A Space Force will allow the United States to “catch up” with its adversaries, who have already “begun to arm space,” he said.

“China has even launched a new division of its armed forces to oversee its military programs in space,” he said.

The US president did not mention the “Space Force” of Russia, which has been in existence for several years.

“We are the most powerful. We are the best funded. We are the most numerous. We are the strongest. We are the smartest, “he said.